Kevin O’Hare has just been announced as Royal Ballet’s next director. Great, I love names with apostrophes and tildes.

O’Hare shines exactly for what he doesn’t shine. So smart, the Brits. He hasn’t been a star, or a choreographer, or has led a great company … but he knows London’s Royal Ballet as the back of his hand. In other words: he’ll be there to direct the company. After the departure of Monica Mason as Artistic Director, O’Hare will find a better trained company than the one he belonged to, but without the presence of those who gave it its identity: Ashton and MacMillan. On the other hand, it has Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon, who are not comparable to their predecessors, but they are internationally recognized and know very well the skills of the company.

Unfortunately, the Royal Ballet will lose in a few years some of its most emblematic Principal Dancers: how time flies! And the new director should be aware. Monica Mason was brilliant and knew how to get the best dancers around, but I fear that she was not so brilliant in the way she promoted the next generation. Let’s see now how he manages with what’s left.For now, I just take my hat off to Monica Mason, who leaves behind a better company that the one she found.

But there is one thing that I love about this appointment: it doesn’t exalt the new director, but those who’ve elected him. It wasn’t: “The Butler, did it”. But in other companies, if the whole process is suppossed to be secret, please make it so. It is unacceptable for us to believe that the selection protocol will be fair and discreet, only to find out that when the envelope is finally opened, we all knew already the name of the winner from weeks ago. They’re rendering a poor service to the chosen one.

A new director always is and must be welcomed. O’Hare has not an easy task ahead, but I guess he knew what this was about before applying. We’ll be alert and ready to give our opinions, which is quite easy. What is difficult is to direct a company.